ICKFORD PRE SCHOOL PLAYGROUP INCORPORATING AFfER SCHOOL CLUB ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024 20ZJ RECEIPTS Pre5chwl fees Gtants 136.718 149,351 2.154 1,237 478 1.236 RecsJvery of costs from stsff Interest rlTr Miscellane04Ls inrxxne 1C 142.120 163 153,383 PAYMENTS 118.83 116,896 4,539 3.791 Trdinirg Professk)nal tees & lic•nc•s Catering {ehiklTenl MateriS (8ssenttalsl 3.432 5.114 617 1,207 2,035 3.309 5,837 1,934 equipment ftjnded by grant Rent & raies LKJht & heat Phone & brc*db Equipment mint5tration- statiOrry eto Unrforn Repair5 & maintenanc Bank charges 8,376 3.1g6 702 2,076 570 775 216 1,180 2.6¥2 373 351 150.166 3,217 52.431 55.648 IDefviysurF4us for Ihe ye Funds brcvJht foTh¥ard Funds camed forward 19.9711 45.677 CASH FUNDS Cash at bank -CAF. Cash at bank- LloJYls rAMrent Birthday lund 33216 24,832
Ickford Preschool Treasurer’s Report 2023/24
It was a slow start to the year again which is inevitable with 11 children leaving the setting to go to school and then a change of management which did lead to a temporary increase in staff wages. We maintained our staffing level despite having fewer children however spaces began to fill up due to the introduction of 2 year funding, which helped the income as well as reducing expenditure, however it didn’t help clear all the deficit from the first quarter.
The majority of the income was received from Bucks County Council which totalled £63991.00 and our private fees which we invoiced approx. £75000, the total of which was approx. £20,000 less than the previous year 2022/23.
We had some grants and donations totalling £2154, on a par with previous year.
Our expenditure totalled £152,091; the majority of which was staff wages and associated employment costs at £123,376. Minimum wage increase had to be taken into account and went up by just over £1 per hour for all staff. This impacted finances and will continue to do so.
Training had increased from last year as we required multiple first aid courses and other courses required.
We ended up with a deficit of £9971 which given the lack of income we did quite well to crawl some funds back.
The pre-school has two bank accounts, a current account and a savings account. As at the end of August 2024 the current account balance was £20845 and the savings account balance was £24832 a total of £45677 invested in total.
Forecasting into 2024/25 our income was higher than outgoings due to additional funding being provided and more 2 year olds in the setting with more starting through the year. Spending will be kept to a minimum as usual and any savings that can be made on utilities will be done by the Finance Manager.
From starting back in September 2024 things are really positive for the rest of the school year with numbers rising and enquiries coming in regularly. After school club seems to have increased as well and we are at a point where we are full on Wednesday and other days are almost full.
ICKFORD PRE SCHOOL PLAYGROUP INCORPORATING AFfER SCHOOL CLUB Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Ickford Pre4chool Incorporatlng After School Club (Charity ntmber 1036452) I report the accounls of thg Charity the rkj ended 31 August 2024. vhKh are set out on page 3. Respecllve respofiibiliti•$ of trustees and examiner The charit¢s trvstees are restx)nsiNe for the preparation of the aceounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is required. It is my respon5ibilty lo: Examine the a(x>)unts under section 145 ofthe Charities Ad To foll¢)w the proceeures laid dovm in the General Dir8cbons given by thè Charity Commissroners under section 145(5lb of the Charities Actr. and To slats whether parbcuL4r matters have come lo my attention. Basls of inknndeTrt èxamin•r'$ report My examinatK)n was rrIed (Mrt in afXX)rdance with the General dircti$ gIEn by Ihe Chanty Commission. An examination indu<les a reeW of the a(tounting records kepl by Ihe charity and a o)mparison of the attounts presented wth those records. It also indudes cx)nsideralion of any unusual itsms or disdosures in the account5, and seeking explanations from Ihe trustees conceming any such matters. The procedur8s undertaken do not provKle all the eviden¢x that woukj be requires in an audit. and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair, ViVAf and Ihe report is limited to those matter5 set out in the slatement below. Indop•rbdont •xamln•rfs 8tat•mo In connection with my examinat*)n. no matter has o)me to my akntion: 1. 1¢h gives me reasonable caus8 to beli8¥e ts1 in any matsial respect the requirements lo keep a(ttyJnting recor(ts in aC£Ordan with sectK)n 10 of Ihe charib.es ACL and lo prepare acc¢JJnts which acrd wth the aceountirKJ records and comply wilh Ihe aco)unting requirements ol the Chanbe5 Act have not been met. 2. to wh+ch. in my opin, attenti Shk$ be drawn in order lo enab a WOFer understanding of the a¢xounts to be reached. AJI fvj Andrew Wcth ACA Date
Ickford Pre-School Chair’s Report 2023/24
The year started with change of manager in the pre-school as Helen Harris who had worked at the pre-school for a number of years left the setting. She was replaced by the deputy manager Suzanne Rogers. Ellen Chapman was then appointed internally to the role of deputy manager.
The setting did make a small deficit in this year. This was mostly due to the high staff costs in the first quarter and the relatively low number of children using the setting. Although the financial situation did improve later in the year we were not able to recover entirely from this initial setback.
At the end of the year Sophie Herring stepped down as committee secretary, to be replaced by Anne Choi and Dave Borthwick left the role of treasurer to be replaced by Franziska Warren. Kath White remained as sole Chair of the committee. Kate Tinkler and Andrea Reeve remained as the other two members of the committee.
Manager Report September 23/24
What a year it has been, from change of management to needing more staff due to getting busy.
I took over from HH on October 23, with help from Ally, Kath and Anne. We got on board with each other and became a working team.
Lydia from Bucks CC came and helped me. With all the information and advice I needed to run the Pre- School well.
The staff took a little while to work as a team due to all the changes that had been made. We took Ellen as Dept Manager and started to work as a team.
We started to get really busy with new children coming in and advertised for a member of staff. We appointed Chloe to start after Easter.
We had 11 leavers in July. They were more than ready for the move up to Primary School.
Numbers for September 2024 are looking good at 24, they have just added 2yrs funding so are getting more children in.
Suzanne Rogers
Manager
AGM - Ickford Preschool & After School Club Wednesday 23rd April 2025
Present - Kath White, Sue Rogers, Ally Rogers, Kate Tinkler, Franzi, Lily & Tommo’s dad, Andrea, Ellen, Anne Choi
Vacant committee roles - to entice more members some strategies are:Sue to approach some parents she feels might like to contribute Draft carefully worded email to send out calling for more volunteers.
Discussed fee increase in September - Ally looking at figures. Expected increase in running costs, explain this to parents when announcing fee increase. This will be finalised in coming weeks. Would we incorporate a slight increase in fees to pay for snacks/nappies/wipes etc? Something we are not doing at the moment. Also, a suggestion for setting up a fund to pay for staff training. Ickford is much cheaper than private nurseries but as a charity it provides more affordable child care, so not to raise fees too much.
Update from Ally - small loss overall for year ending Sept 2024 but things looking much brighter by now. ASC doing particularly well. Sorting the lease was a large cost.
We have to pay for waste management, payment of which is manageable at the moment. £10,000 grant secured for the setting, thanks to Ally. Hoping to get the playground markings done before summer. Suggestions for trying to get contractors in whilst on school trip or during sports day, if holiday time booked up.
Update from Sue - All okay. Struggling with motivation of Mia. Discussion centered around whether it’s worthwhile keeping her on as her lack of engagement detrimental to general staff wellbeing.
- check on contract (zero hours to July) We will have enough staff in September without her, as child numbers always decrease slightly at the beginning of the year.
Anne to write up letter and advertisement for sixth formers to send out to secondary schools. Date for the summer fayre - Sat 28th June, in the park, Pavilion.
In future, discussion of alternating Summer trips as children often in Pre school for two years.
What would happen if there was no committee? Discussion on the possibility of Bucks taking on the preschool setting. Long process apparently, involving expense, Ofsted, change of bank details and name of setting. However, doable. Ally, Kath and Anne to look into it.
A huge thank you to Kath White for all her amazing hard work and dedication over the past few years as she steps down from the role of Chairperson in June.